Real Life Weddings: Carrie & Mark

Carrie and Mark had been together for 7 years when Mark proposed to Carrie on a romantic Christmas weekend in London in 2010. They married in June 2012 at Emmanuel Church in Plymouth followed by a stunning reception at St Elizabeth’s House. Carrie shares her top wedding tips with us below:

Did you have a look or theme in mind for your wedding day?

I wanted our theme to be ‘vintage romantic’ with tonnes of roses and a palest pink and champagne colour scheme. Everything stemmed from the theme of the wedding, from the venue down to the earrings I wore.

Who were your top 3 wedding suppliers that helped make your day special?

Our florist Amanda Armstrongwww.flowersbyamanda.co.uk She really understood the look I wanted to achieve and what colours and flower types I wanted and was very patient with all the little changes and ideas I had. The flowers were very important to me and were very central to my theme and she really did me proud. I only wish that I could have kept them all after the day!

Our cake maker Kate Talmagewww.centrepiece-cakes.co.uk I found a picture of a cake in a wedding magazine that was just perfect for our wedding and Kate did such a good job of replicating it for us and again, she really understood our theme. It looked and tasted amazing. My florist also decorated the cake with roses.

Helen Whitewww.sittingprettysouthwest.co.uk She decorated our venue with all of our chair covers, taffeta sashes and table swags. She was so accommodating and very helpful. She sent me countless samples of chair sash colours until we found the right one and was very professional throughout. All the staff at St Elizabeth’s House were also amazing, it is proving to be the most popular wedding venue in Plymouth.

Also a special mention for our photographers, Jenny Steer and David Pullum www.dpphotography.co.uk A friend of mine had used Jenny and David to photograph her wedding and when I saw her photos, I knew we had to have them for our wedding too. I love the unique reportage style of photography that they do and the quality of the photos is brilliant. Jenny spent 8 hours of the day with us and she captured every moment of the day so well. We liked how relaxed Jenny made us feel as we both hate having our photos taken!

What top tip would you give to brides whilst planning their wedding/on their wedding day?

Make sure you really make the most of the wedding planning stage. I loved reading all of the wedding magazines and getting inspiration and ideas. I spent so much time organising the wedding to the last detail and it really pays off. Obviously cater for your guests and make sure they have a good time but above all, make sure you have the wedding that YOU want and not what other people want or expect you to have. Finally, don’t be nervous, I was so excited on the day to see the results of all my hard work and to spend the day enjoying it with my husband.

Were you happy with your wedding stationery?

I had a real hard time trying to find the right wedding stationery, I must have looked at every website possible and ordered countless samples but I just couldn’t find what I wanted. Then I came across the Ivy Ellen website and I knew I was finally going to find it. The website is very impressive and Lewis has been brilliant, we must have sent hundreds of emails to each other getting every last detail right and he was so patient and accommodating throughout. I loved having all of the stationery items coordinated and the Beauty range in Linen suited our theme perfectly, vintage, romantic and elegant.